Panelo: Sison ‘hallucinating’

JOSE Ma. Sison "must disengage himself from his fantasy before his illusions develop into something medically perilous."

Presidential spokesman and palace chief legal counsel Sec. Salvador Panelo on Friday brushed aside the statement issued recently by Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founding chairman Jose Ma. Sison as being out of touch with reality.

According to Panelo, Sison, whom President Rodrigo Duterte asked to come home from his exile in The Netherlands, “is really living in an illusory world he has created for himself.”

“His remarks to his cadres on the occasion of the CPP anniversary entitled, ‘Duterte regime goes downhill as revolutionary movement rises,’ is proof of his hallucination,” Panelo said.

In a statement, Panelo said it is the communist movement that “is on downhill” as the Duterte administration continues to gain the approval of the Filipino as seen from recent survey results.

The palace official cited what he termed to be the growing number of former rebels who have “turned a new in their lives” by joining the mainstream of society on the peace initiatives of the government.

Panelo noted a Facebook interview in which Sison demanded from the government the production of the orders suspending the military and police operations against the communist rebels.

The government, according to Panelo cannot be threatened by Sison that he would cancel the ceasefire “if these orders are not shown to the NDF panel.”

“These orders are not forthcoming, Sison and his comrades can proceed with the cancelation of the ceasefire and the President will oblige them. In the first place, they have violated their own declared unilateral ceasefire. So there is not even logic in their threat.”

“Sison must disengage himself from his fantasy before his illusions develop into something medically perilous,” Panelo concluded.